Behaviour Awareness Week

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 Great Minds Together (GMT) launched Behaviour Awareness Week (BAW) with the purpose of  fostering awareness and a deeper understanding of behaviour in children and young people. BAW serves as a platform to encourage educators, parents, policymakers, and communities to rethink  their approaches to managing behaviour in children and young people.  BAW continues to grow annually as a platform to drive positive change for how schools, care and residential homes  perceive and  respond to behaviour in young people, with the goal of encouraging schools, care and residential homes to implement a more  therapeutic approach to behaviour. 

For 2025, we are continuing our vital focus on therapeutic behaviour policies in schools, care, and residential homes.

Too many children and young people are still being let down by sanction-led systems that fail to understand or meet their needs. This disproportionately affects those who are neurodivergent, may have unmet or undiagnosed needs, have experienced trauma, or live with additional needs or a disability.

We believe that all behaviour is a form of communication. Yet, too often, behaviour policies default to punishments and sanctions instead of asking the most important question: what is this young person trying to tell us?

Not all behaviour needs to be sanctioned. We must move away from approaches that rely on fear and control, and instead create safe, supportive environments that empower children and young people to thrive. Evidence continues to show that a therapeutic approach leads to healthier outcomes, reduces the need for costly crisis interventions, and helps young people build lasting resilience.

Through a week of workshops, seminars, and awareness campaigns, Behaviour Awareness Week 2025 will champion empathy, dialogue, and proactive strategies for supporting positive behaviour and emotional well-being.

Together, we can work towards a future where every child feels understood, supported, and empowered to succeed.

 For 2024 the theme is ‘Therapeutic Behaviour Policies in schools, care and residential homes'

Children and young people are being let down time and time again by a sanction led system that does not understand or meet the needs of children, particularly those who are neurodivergent, may have unmet or undiagnosed needs, those who may have experienced trauma and those with additional needs or a disability.

 All behaviour is a form of communication and many behaviour policies in schools, ,care and residential homes just initiate punishments and sanctions when certain behaviours are experienced, when we should be listening to children and young people to try to understand what they are trying to tell us.  

All behaviour doesn’t need to be sanctioned, we don’t want to scare our young people and create an environment based on fear. There is evidence that a more therapeutic approach leads to better outcomes that are less likely to require crisis intervention later down the line, which is costly and traumatic. 

Through workshops, seminars, and awareness campaigns, the week-long event aims to promote  empathy, dialogue, and proactive strategies for supporting positive behaviour and emotional well-being. Together, let's work towards a future where every child feels supported, understood, and empowered to succeed.